System for and method of providing service related to object

ABSTRACT

A system for and a method of providing service related to an object include receiving property information of the object when the device is located within a predetermined distance from the object, requesting available service from a server based on a current location of the device receiving the property information and the received property information, and receiving the requested service from the server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0096652, filed on Aug. 31, 2012, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toproviding service that is related to objects nearby a device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Due to recent developments in information communication technologies andnetwork technologies, multimedia-type portable devices may includevarious functions. Recently, near-distance communication units are havebeen integrated in such devices, and thus information services forutilizing information received from tags included in objects areavailable.

Previously, advertisement information corresponding to tag informationattached to an advertisement poster was provided to a device for displayto a user. However, since information unilaterally defined by anadvertiser is provided to a device, a user of the device cannot receiveproper services that satisfy his or her needs.

Therefore, techniques for determining an intention of a user using anear-distance communication and effectively providing servicessatisfying the intention of the user are necessary.

SUMMARY

Aspects of exemplary embodiments provide a system for and a method ofproviding a predetermined service that is related to objects to a devicebased on properties of the object and context information related to theproperties of the object.

Aspects of exemplary embodiments also provide a system for and a methodof providing a predetermined service that is related to objects to adevice based on context information regarding an intention of a user inrelation to services.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided amethod by which a device receives a service related to an object, themethod including receiving property information of the object when thedevice is located within a predetermined distance from the object;requesting a server for an available service related to the object basedon a current location of the device and the received propertyinformation; and receiving the requested service from the server.

The requesting of the available service includes determining types ofthe available service and types of specific information to be providedby the available service based on the received property information andthe current location of the device; and requesting the server for theavailable service based on the types of the available service and thetypes of the specific information.

The method further includes acquiring context information related to thetypes of the available service and the types of the specificinformation, wherein the requesting the server for the available servicebased on the types of the available service and the types of thespecific information comprises providing the acquired contextinformation to the server.

The receiving of the requested service includes receiving the servicebased on the types of the available service, the types of the specificinformation, and the context information.

The acquiring of the context information includes acquiring contextinformation related to an application being executed by the device.

The context information includes information related to at least one ofa date, a time, the current location of the device, a gender of a user,an age of the user, and an execution history of an application that isexecuted by the device in relation to the available service.

The acquired context information is provided to the server via theobject.

The requesting of the available service includes requesting the serverfor the available service based on time, a user profile of the user, anda user history of services used by the user.

The property information of the object includes information related toservices related to the object and at least one of an identifier of theobject and information related to applications related to the services.

The receiving of the property information includes receiving theproperty information via a close-distance communication network.

The property information is property information related to an objectselected based on a user input via the device.

The property information is provided by the object to the device basedon a user input for selecting from a predetermined list displayed on ascreen of the object.

The receiving of the requested service includes receiving specificinformation to be provided by a type of service selected based on thereceived property information and the current location of the devicefrom the server.

In the requesting of the available service, the available service arerequested from the server via the object, in the receiving of therequested service, specific information to be provided by a type ofservice selected based on the received property information of theobject and the current location of the device is received from theserver, and the specific information to be provided by the type ofservice selected based on the received property information and thecurrent location of the device is determined by the object.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a method by which a device receives a service related to anobject, the method including determining an application executed by thedevice when the device is located within a predetermined distance fromthe object; requesting a server to provide an available service based ontypes of services provided by the application and a current location ofthe device; and receiving the requested service from the server.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a method by which a server provides a service related to anobject, the method including receiving from the device propertyinformation of the object and a current location of a device;determining specific information to be provided by a service related tothe object to be provided to the device based on the received propertyinformation and the current location of the device; and providing thespecific information to the device, wherein the property information ofthe object is provided by the object to the device when the device islocated within a predetermined distance from the object.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a method by which an object provides a service related to theobject to a device, the method including providing property informationof the object to the device; receiving context information related toproperties of the object acquired by the device based on the propertyinformation; and providing a service related to the object determinedbased on the received context information to the device, wherein theservice is related to the object, and wherein the context information isprovided by the device to the object when the device is located within apredetermined distance from the object.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda device which receives a service related to an object, the deviceincluding a property information receiving unit configured to receiveproperty information of the object when the device is located within apredetermined distance from the object; a service requesting unitconfigured to request a server for an available service related to theobject based on a current location of the device and the receivedproperty information; and a service receiving unit configured to receivethe requested service from the server.

According to another aspect of the an exemplary embodiment, there isprovided a server which provides a service related to an object, theserver including a context information acquiring unit configured toacquire property information of the object and a current location of adevice from the device; and a service providing unit configured toprovide specific information to be provided by a service related to theobject, to the device, wherein the service is determined based on thereceived property information and the current location of the device,and wherein the property information of the object is provided by theobject to the device when the device is located within a predetermineddistance from the object.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there isprovided an object which provides a service related to the object, theobject including a property information providing unit configured toprovide property information of the object to the device; a contextinformation acquiring unit configured to acquire context informationrelated to properties of the object acquired by the device based on theprovided property information from the device; and a service providingunit configured to provide the device a service related to the objectdetermined based on the received context information, wherein thecontext information is provided by the device to the object when thedevice is located within a predetermined distance from the object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects will become more apparent by describing indetail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a service-providing system that providesservices related to objects according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method by which a device generatesintention information based on properties of an object and receivesservices from a server;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device generatesintention information related to services, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the device generatesintention information based on properties of the object and requests aservice from a server, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device acquirescontext information related to an application that is being executed bythe device and receives a service from the server, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the device acquirescontext information related to an application that is being executed bythe device and requests the server for a service, according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device acquiresintention information related to services and provides services to thedevice;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the object acquiresintention information related to services and provides the intentioninformation to the device according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method by which the object acquiresintention information related to services and provides services to thedevice via the server, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a context information tableindicating context information in correspondence to types of services,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example menu screen image of anapplication executed by the device, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which a service-providingsystem and context information related to the device are displayed viaan application;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which intention informationrelated to a user is displayed and context information related to thedetermined intention information is displayed, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example in which intention informationrelated to a user is displayed and context information related to thedetermined intention information is displayed, according to anotherexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example in which the device receives aservice and changes intention information;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example in which the device sets upcontext information used for providing a service based on a user input,according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of providing a navigationservice according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example in which the device downloads anapplication based on application information included in the propertyinformation of the object;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the device according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the object according to an exemplaryembodiment; and

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of the server according to an exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as beinglimited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseexemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of thedisclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals in thedrawings denote like elements.

When a component is referred to as being “connected to” anothercomponent, it can not only be “directly connected,” but also“electrically connected” across an intervening device. Furthermore, whena unit is referred to as “comprising” or “including” a component(s), itdoes not exclude other components unless stated otherwise and shall bereferred to as comprising or including the other components.

Hereinafter, an object is goods or a device including a marker or a tagattached to the object for performing close-distance communication. Theobject may include a QR code, a barcode, a RFID tag, or a NFC tag.Furthermore, the object may include a passive smart poster (PSP) or anactive smart poster (ASP). However, the object is not limited thereto.If the object includes a NFC tag, the NFC tag may include a NFC dataexchange format (NDEF) data.

Furthermore, a service refers to a service for providing informationcorresponding to an intention of a user and may include a recipeservice, a navigation service, a goods information providing service, amap information providing service, a ticketing service, a couponproviding service, and a goods purchase service, for example.

Furthermore, property information of an object is information regardingproperties of the object and may include information related to anidentifier of the object, a type of the object, applications related tothe object, and services related to the object.

Furthermore, context information may include context information relatedto a device and context information related to a user. The contextinformation related to a device may include a location of the device,time, weather, and an execution history of applications executed by thedevice. Furthermore, the context information related to a user mayinclude information related to gender, age, job, name, relationship,nationality, handicap, constitution, health conditions, and preferencesof the user.

Furthermore, intention information is information related to services auser wants to receive and may include information regarding types ofservices and types of specific information to be provided by theservices. For example, intention information may include “a recipe forspicy taste.”

Furthermore, context information related to intention information refersto context information for providing a service corresponding to anintention of a user. Context information related to intentioninformation may be extracted from context information acquired by adevice.

Furthermore, a device that approaches an object refers to a device islocated within a predetermined communication range of an object.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail withreference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a service-providing system that providesservices related to objects according to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the service-providing system according to anexemplary embodiment includes an object 100, a device 200, and a server300. A user's intention may vary based on context of a user and types ofobject 100 which device 200 of the user approaches, and theservice-providing system according to an exemplary embodiment mayprovide services satisfying intentions of the user to the device 200based on properties of the object 100 and a context of the device 200.

The object 100 may provide the device 200 with information regardingproperties of the object 100 and link information for the device 200 toreceive services. The object 100 may be a device that includes a markeror a tag for near-distance communication.

The object 100 may include a QR code, a barcode, a RFID tag, or a NFCtag, and the object 100 may be an advertisement poster or a smart posterfor providing predetermined information. Furthermore, in theservice-providing system according to an exemplary embodiment, a smartposter technique defined by the NFC Forum may be employed, but is notlimited thereto.

Furthermore, the object 100 may be disposed at various locations. Forexample, the object 100 may be included in a street advertisement panel,a magazine, a poster, goods, or a public transportation station.Furthermore, if the object 100 is a smart poster related to ‘soup,’ forexample, the object 100 may be located in a market, in a kitchen, oralong a street.

Furthermore, the device 200 collects property information regardingproperties of the object 100 if the device 200 and the object 100 arelocated within communication range of each other. The device 200 mayreceive services satisfying intentions of a user of the device 200 basedon context information related to the properties of the object 100. Thecontext information may include context information related to thedevice 200 and context information related to a user. The contextinformation related to the device 200 may include information regardinga location of the device 200, time, weather, and a history ofapplication execution by the device 200, for example. The history ofapplication execution may include information regarding titles,reproduction dates, reproduction times, and authors of contentsreproduced via applications on the device 200. Furthermore, the contextinformation related to a user may include information regarding at leastone from among gender, age, job, name, relationship, nationality,handicap, constitution, health condition, and preferences of the user.Context information related to gender, age, nationality, and handicap ofa user may be acquired based on resident registration number andpassport number of the user. Furthermore, information related to job,constitution, health condition, relationship, and preferences of a usermay be acquired based on messages input via the device 200 by the user(e.g., SMS messages, MMS messages, and SNS messages). Furthermore,information related to preferences of a user may include informationregarding types of services used by the user and the user's evaluationson the services. Furthermore, if a user makes payments via the device200, information related to preferences of the user may be generatedbased on a history of the payments. The context information related tothe device 200 and the context information related to the user may beupdated as the device 200 receives services via the object 100 and theserver 300.

For example, if the object 100 is a smart poster related to ‘soup’ andthe device 200 is within communication range of the object 100 locatedin a market, the device 200 may receive a service indicating whetherfamily members of a user of the device 200 are allergic to the ‘soup’and a service identifying the location of the ‘soup’ in the market fromthe server 300.

Furthermore, if the object 100 is a smart poster related to ‘soup’ andthe device 200 is close to the object 100 located in a kitchen, thedevice 200 may receive a service for providing a spicy soup recipe forcooking the ‘soup’ from the server 300.

For example, if the object 100 is a smart poster related to ‘soup’ andthe device 200 is within communication range of the object 100 locatedalong a street, the device 200 may receive a service for navigating to astore selling the ‘soup’.

Furthermore, the device 200 may be a smart phone, a mobile phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, a media player, a globalpositioning system (GPS) device, or any of various other mobile ornon-mobile computing devices. However, the device 200 is not limitedthereto.

The server 300 may receive from the device at least one from amongproperty information related to the object 100, context informationrelated to the object 100, and intention information related to thedevice 200, and may provide services corresponding to the intention ofthe device 200.

With a service-providing system according to an exemplary embodiment, auser may check for allergic reactions based on information regarding theuser's constitution and medical information before the user purchasesfood supplies, and may determine nutrients that help health of the user.

Furthermore, a user may determine a particular bus to take to apredetermined destination and a period of time to wait at a bus stopuntil the particular bus arrives, for example.

Furthermore, if the object 100 is a concert poster, for example, a usermay purchase a desired ticket when the device 200 is withincommunication range of the object 100.

Furthermore, if the object 100 is a magazine, for example, a user maydownload discount coupons for goods advertised in the magazine when thedevice 200 is within communication range of the object 100.

Furthermore, if the object 100 is an event poster located at apredetermined event location, a user may receive a navigation service tonavigate to an event location when the device 200 is withincommunication range of the object 100.

Furthermore, a user may purchase goods by when the device 200 is withincommunication range of the object 100, for example.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device generatesintention information based on properties of the object and receivesservices from the server.

In an operation S200, the device 200 approaches the object 100. Thedevice 200 and the object 100 may be connected to each other via acommunication network. For example, the device 200 and the object 100may be connected to each other via a near field communication (NFC)network.

In an operation S210, the device 200 receives property informationrelated to properties of the object 100 from the object 100. Theproperty information of the object 100 is information related toproperties of the object 100 and may include information regarding anidentifier of the object 100, a type of the object 100, applicationsrelated to the object 100, and services related to the object 100. Asthe device 200 accesses the object 100 via an NFC channel, the device200 may receive property information related to properties of the object100 from the object 100. The property information of the object 100 willbe described below in closer detail with reference to FIG. 12.

In an operation S220, the device 200 receives link information forreceiving services related to the object 100 from the object 100. Thelink information may include a link address of the server 300 whichprovides services related to the object 100.

In an operation S230, the device 200 executes an application forreceiving services. The device 200 may execute an application forreceiving services based on application information included in theproperty information of the object 100. If an application for receivingservices is not installed on the device 200, the device 200 may downloada predetermined application and install the downloaded application.Furthermore, if an application for receiving services is installed onthe device 200, the device 200 may execute the installed application. Amethod by which the device 200 downloads an application will bedescribed below in closer detail with reference to FIG. 18.

Furthermore, although it is described above that, in the operation S230,an application is executed after the device 200 approaches the object100 and receives property information of the object 100, the method isnot limited thereto. An application for receiving services may beexecuted by the device 200 in advance, and the device 200 may approachto the object 100 and receive property information of the object 100from the object 100 while the application is being executed.

In an operation S240, the device 200 generates intention informationbased on properties of the object 100. The intention information isinformation related to services a user wants to receive and may includeinformation regarding types of services and types of specificinformation to be provided by the services.

In an operation S240, the device 200 may determine types of servicesbased on the properties of the object 100 and may determine types ofspecific information to be provided by the services. For example, if theobject 100 is an advertisement poster related to ‘soup,’ the device 200may select from among information related to an allergic reactionchecking service, a recipe providing service, and a navigation service.

If the device 200 decides to provide a recipe providing service, thedevice 200 may determine specific information to be provided by therecipe providing service. For example, the specific information to beprovided by the recipe providing service may include a recipe using anoven, a recipe using a microwave, and a recipe using a gas stove, andthe device 200 may decide to provide the recipe using a microwave.

Furthermore, if the device 200 decides to provide a navigation service,the device 200 may determine specific information to be provided by thenavigation service. For example, the specific information to be providedby the navigation service may include navigation information regardingroads designated for 4-wheeled vehicles, navigation informationregarding toll-free roads, 3-dimensional navigation information,2-dimensional navigation information, and navigation informationprovided via a heads up display (HUD) device, in which the device 200may provide the navigation information regarding toll-free roads and the2-dimensional navigation information.

Furthermore, the device 200 may determine types of services based onlocation of the device 200 and properties of the object 100 and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the determinedservices.

Types of services and types of specific information to be provided byservices may be determined based on properties of the object 100 anduser inputs. However, the services and information are not limitedthereto, and types of services and types of specific information to beprovided by services may be determined based on context information asdescribed below. Furthermore, in the operation S240, the device 200 maydetermine types of services only and may not determine specificinformation to be provided by services.

In an operation S250, the device 200 acquires context information basedon intention information. For example, if type of a service included inthe intention information is ‘recipe providing service’ and type ofspecific information to be provided by the corresponding service is a‘recipe using an oven,’ the device 200 may acquire information regardingpreferred tastes of a user as context information.

Furthermore, if type of a service included in the intention informationis ‘navigation service’ and types of specific information to be providedby the corresponding service are ‘navigation information regardingtoll-free roads’ and ‘2-dimensionally provided navigation information,’the device 200 may acquire information regarding location of the device200 and type of a vehicle as context information.

Although it is described above that, in the operation S250, contextinformation is acquired based on intention information, the contextinformation is not limited thereto. The device 200 may acquire contextinformation related to the device 200 and context information related toa user in advance and may extract context information related tointention information from the pre-acquired context information. In thiscase, the pre-acquired context information may be used by the device 200to generate intention information in the operation S240.

Furthermore, context information may be acquired by an application thatis either being executed or has been executed by the device 200. Forexample, if an application being executed by the device 200 is anapplication for receiving recipes, context information related torecipes may be acquired.

In an operation S260, the device 200 requests a service from the server300. The device 200 may provide property information of the object 100and intention information and context information acquired by the device200 to the server 300. For example, the device 200 may provideinformation indicating that the object 100 is a smart poster related to‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providing service’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ arenecessary, and a user prefers spicy taste to the server 300. In thiscase, the device 200 may access the server 300 by using the linkinformation received in the operation S220 and request for thecorresponding service from the server 300.

Furthermore, the device 200 may request a service from the server 300based on time, the user's profile, and the user's history of usingservices.

In an operation S270, the server 300 may provide a service to the device200 based on the received information. For example, the server 300 mayprovide information regarding a recipe for using an ‘oven’ to cook a‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device 200 generatesintention information related to services, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

In an operation S300, the device 200 determines types of services basedon properties of the object 100. In the operation S300, the device 200may decide at least one service from among services that may be providedby the server 300 based on properties of the object 100. For example, ifthe object 100 is an advertisement poster for ‘soup,’ the device 200 mayselect from among an allergic reaction checking service, a recipeproviding service, and a navigation service. The device 200 may receivea list of services related to the object 100 from the object 100 whenthe device 200 approaches the object 100. However, the services are notlimited thereto. Information regarding types of services correspondingto properties of the object 100 may be stored in the device 200 inadvance. Furthermore, the device 200 may also determine types ofservices based on location of the device 200 and properties of theobject 100.

In an operation S310, the device 200 may determine types of specificinformation to be provided by a decided on service. Furthermore, if thedevice 200 decides to provide a recipe providing service in theoperation S300, the device 200 may determine specific information to beprovided by the recipe providing service. For example, the specificinformation to be provided by the recipe providing service may include arecipe using an oven, a recipe using a microwave, and a recipe using agas stove, and the device 200 may select the recipe using a microwave.

Furthermore, if the device 200 decides to provide navigation service inthe operation S300, the device 200 may determine specific information tobe provided by the navigation service. For example, the specificinformation to be provided by the navigation service may includenavigation information regarding roads designated for 4-wheeledvehicles, navigation information regarding toll-free roads,3-dimensional navigation information, 2-dimensional navigationinformation, and navigation information provided via a heads up display(HUD) device, in which the device 200 may provide the navigationinformation regarding toll-free roads and the 2-dimensional navigationinformation.

Types of services and types of specific information to be provided byservices may be determined based on properties of the object 100 anduser inputs. However, the services and specific information are notlimited thereto, and types of services and types of specific informationto be provided by services may be determined based on contextinformation acquired by and stored in the device 200 in advance. Typesof specific information to be provided by services may be determinedbased on age, gender, job, health condition, and preference of a user.In this case, types of services and types of specific information to beprovided by services may be recommended by the device 200, and the typeof predetermined service and the type of predetermined specificinformation to be provided by the corresponding service may bedetermined based on a user input.

Furthermore, services provided by the server 300 may be categorizedaccording to ages, genders, jobs, and health conditions of users, forexample. In this case, there may be particular link information forreceiving services of corresponding categories from the server 300 perservice category, and the server 300 may provide a predetermined link tothe device 200.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the device generatesintention information based on properties of the object and requests aservice from the server, according to an exemplary embodiment. In FIG.4, the device 200 may provide acquired intention information and contextinformation to the object 100. Furthermore, the object 100 may requestthe server 300 to provide a predetermined service to the device 200.

Operations S400 through S440 are similar to the operations S200, S210,S230, and S250 of FIG. 3, and thus only operations S450 through S470will be described below.

In an operation S450, the device 200 provides intention information andcontext information to the object 100. For example, the device 200 mayprovide intention information indicating that ‘recipe providing service’and a ‘recipe using an oven’ are necessary and intention informationindicating that a user prefers a spicy taste to the object 100.

In an operation S460, the object 100 requests the server 300 to providea predetermined service to the device 200. The object 100 may provideinformation indicating that the object 100 is a smart poster related to‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providing service’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ arenecessary, and a user prefers spicy taste to the server 300.

In an operation S470, the server 300 provides a corresponding service tothe device 200 based on received information. For example, the server300 may provide information regarding a recipe for using an ‘oven’ tocook ‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

The object 100 may request a service from the server 300 and providespecific information related to the service to the device 200simultaneously.

Furthermore, although it is described that the server 300 provides aservice directly to the device 200 in FIG. 4, the service provision isnot limited thereto. In response to a request from the object 100, theserver 300 may provide a predetermined service to the device 200 via theobject 100.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device 200 acquirescontext information related to an application that is being executed bythe device 200 and receives a service from the server 300, according toan exemplary embodiment. When the device 200 is located within a pre-setdistance from the object 100, the device 200 may check at least oneapplication executed by the device 200 and may request the server 300for available services based on types of services that are provided bythe application and information regarding location of the device 200.

In an operation S500, the device 200 approaches the object 100. Thedevice 200 may be within a predetermined distance from the object 100,and the device 200 and the object 100 may be connected to each other viaa communication network. For example, the device 200 and the object 100may be connected to each other via an NFC network.

In an operation S510, the device 200 receives property informationrelated to properties of the object 100 from the object 100. Theproperty information of the object 100 is information related toproperties of the object 100 and may include information regarding fromamong an identifier of the object 100, a type of the object 100,applications related to the object 100, and services related to theobject 100. The property information of the object 100 will be describedbelow in closer detail with reference to FIG. 12.

In an operation S520, the device 200 receives link information forreceiving services related to the object 100 from the object 100. Thelink information may include a link address of the server 300 whichprovides services related to the object 100.

In an operation S530, the device 200 executes an application forreceiving services from the server 300. The device 200 may execute anapplication for receiving services based on application informationincluded in the property information of the object 100. If anapplication for receiving services is not installed on the device 200,the device 200 may download a predetermined application and install thedownloaded application. Furthermore, if an application for receivingservices is installed on the device 200, the device 200 may execute theinstalled application. A method by which the device 200 downloads anapplication will be described below in closer detail with reference toFIG. 18.

Furthermore, although it is described above that, in the operation S530,an application is executed after the device 200 approaches the object100 and receives property information of the object 100, the applicationexecution is not limited thereto. An application for receiving servicesmay be executed by the device 200 in advance, and the device 200 mayapproach the object 100 and receive property information of the object100 from the object 100 while the application is being executed.

In an operation S540, the device 200 may acquire context informationrelated to applications that are being executed. In the operation S540,the device 200 may determine applications that are being executed,determine types of services provided by the applications that are beingexecuted, and acquire context information related to the determinedservices. Furthermore, the device 200 may check an execution history ofthe applications that are being executed and may acquire contextinformation from the execution history. For example, if an applicationprovides an ‘allergic reaction checking service,’ a ‘recipe providingservice,’ and a ‘navigation service,’ the device 200 may acquire contextinformation necessary for checking an allergic reaction, providingrecipes, and providing navigation information. For example, in relationto the ‘allergic reaction checking service,’ the device 200 may acquireinformation regarding constitution and health conditions of a user ascontext information. As another example, in relation to the ‘recipeproviding service,’ the device 200 may acquire information regardingage, gender, and preferred tastes of a user as context information. As alast example, in relation to the ‘navigation service,’ the device 200may acquire information regarding location of the device 200, weather,and traffic conditions as context information.

However, acquiring the context information is not limited thereto, andthe device 200 may acquire various types of context information.

In an operation S550, the device 200 generates intention informationbased on properties of the object 100. The intention information isinformation related to services a user wants to receive and may includeinformation regarding types of services and types of specificinformation to be provided by the services.

In the operation S550, the device 200 may determine types of servicesbased on the properties of the object 100 and may determine types ofspecific information to be provided by the services. The device 200 mayselect services related to properties of the object 100 from amongservices provided by an application being executed.

For example, if the object 100 is an advertisement poster related to a‘soup,’ the device 200 may select a recipe providing service or anavigation service from among services provided by an application.

If the device 200 decides to provide a recipe providing service, thedevice 200 may determine specific information to be provided by therecipe providing service. For example, the specific information to beprovided by the recipe providing service may include a recipe using anoven, a recipe using a microwave, and a recipe using a gas stove, andthe device 200 may decide to provide the recipe using a microwave.

Furthermore, if the device 200 decides to provide a navigation service,the device 200 may determine specific information to be provided by thenavigation service. For example, the specific information to be providedby the navigation service may include navigation information regardingroads designated for 4-wheeled vehicles, navigation informationregarding toll-free roads, 3-dimensional navigation information,2-dimensional navigation information, and navigation informationprovided via a heads up display (HUD) device, in which the device 200may provide the navigation information regarding toll-free roads and the2-dimensional navigation information.

Types of services and types of specific information to be provided byservices may be determined based on properties of the object 100 anduser inputs. However, the determination of services and information isnot limited thereto, and types of services and types of specificinformation to be provided by services may be automatically determinedbased on properties of the object 100 and properties of an application.Furthermore, in the operation S540, the device 200 may determine typesof services only and may not determine specific information to beprovided by services.

Furthermore, the device 200 may determine types of services based onlocation of the device 200 and applications being executed and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the determinedservices. The device 200 may select a service related to the location ofthe device 200 from among services that are provided by an applicationbeing executed. Information regarding locations at which predeterminedservices are to be provided may be pre-set and stored in the device 200or the server 300 in advance.

In an operation S560, the device 200 extracts context informationrelated to intention information from the context information acquiredin the operation S540. The device 200 may extract only informationrelated to types of services and specific information to be provided bythe services included in the intention information from among variousinformation included in the context information acquired in theoperation S540. Although it is described above that context informationrelated to the intention information generated in the operation S550 isextracted, the context information acquisition is not limited thereto.The device 200 may not acquire any context information before theoperation S560 and may only acquire context information related tointention information after the intention information is generated. Inthis case, the device 200 may acquire context information related totypes of services and specific information to be provided by theservices included in the intention information.

In an operation S570, the device 200 requests the server 300 for aservice. The device 200 may provide property information of the object100 and intention information and context information acquired by thedevice 200 to the server 300. The device 200 may receive a request ofacquired context information from the object 100 and may provide thecontext information to the object 100 in response to the request. Forexample, the device 200 may provide information indicating that theobject 100 is a smart poster related to a ‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providingservice’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ necessary for preparing the soup,and preference indicating a user prefers spicy taste to the server 300.In this case, the device 200 may access the server 300 by using the linkinformation received in the operation S520 and request the server 300for the corresponding service.

In an operation S580, the server 300 may provide a service to the device200 by using the received information. For example, the server 300 mayprovide information regarding a recipe for using an oven to cook a‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the device 200acquires context information related to an application that is beingexecuted by the device 200 and requests the server 300 for a service,according to an exemplary embodiment. In FIG. 6, the device 200 mayprovide acquired intention information and context information to theobject 100. Furthermore, the object 100 may request the server 300 toprovide a predetermined service to the device 200.

Operations S600 through S650 of FIG. 6 correspond to the operationsS500, S510, and S530 through S560 of FIG. 5, and thus only operationsS660 through S680 will be described below.

In an operation S660, the device 200 provides intention information andcontext information to the object 100. For example, the device 200 mayprovide intention information indicating that a ‘recipe providingservice’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ are necessary and contextinformation indicating that a user prefers ‘spicy taste’ to the object100.

In an operation S670, the object 100 requests the server 300 to providea predetermined service to the device 200. The object 100 may provideinformation indicating that the object 100 is a smart poster related toa ‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providing service’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ arenecessary, and a user prefers ‘spicy taste’ to the server 300.

In an operation S680, the server 300 provides a corresponding service tothe device 200 based on received information. For example, the server300 may provide information regarding a recipe for using an ‘oven’ tocook a ‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

The object 100 may request a service to the server 300 and providespecific information related to the service to the device 200simultaneously.

Furthermore, although it is described that the server 300 provides aservice directly to the device 200 in FIG. 6, the service provision isnot limited thereto. In response to a request from the object 100, theserver 300 may provide a predetermined service to the device 200 via theobject 100.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method by which the device 200 acquiresintention information related to services and provides services to thedevice 200. In FIG. 7, the server 300 may determine an intention of auser based on properties of the object 100 and context informationacquired by the device 200, and may provide services corresponding tothe determined intention to the device 200. Furthermore, the server 300may determine an intention of a user based on properties of the object100 and location of the device 200.

Operations S700 through S730 of FIG. 7 correspond to the operations S200through S230 of FIG. 2, and thus only operations S740 through S770 willbe described below.

In an operation S740, the device 200 may acquire context informationbased on properties of the object 100. In the operation S740, the device200 may check properties of the object 100 and acquire contextinformation related to the services related to the object 100. Forexample, if services related to the object 100 are an ‘allergic reactionchecking service,’ a ‘recipe providing service,’ and a ‘navigationservice,’ the device 200 may acquire context information necessary forchecking an allergic reaction, providing recipes, and providingnavigation information. For example, in relation to the ‘allergicreaction checking service,’ the device 200 may acquire informationregarding constitution and health conditions of a user as contextinformation. As another example, in relation to the ‘recipe providingservice,’ the device 200 may acquire information regarding age, gender,and preferred tastes of a user as context information. As a lastexample, in relation to the ‘navigation service,’ the device 200 mayacquire information regarding location of the device 200, weather, andtraffic conditions as context information.

However, the context information acquisition is not limited thereto, andthe device 200 may acquire various types of context information. Forexample, the device 200 may acquire information related to an executionhistory of the applications executed by the device 200, gender of auser, job of the user, etc.

In an operation S750, the device 200 provides property information ofthe object 100 related to properties of the object 100 and the acquiredcontext information to the server 300. The device 200 may provideinformation related to an identifier of the object 100, a list ofservices related to the object 100, and identifiers of applicationsrelated to the object 100 to the server 300. Furthermore, the device 200may provide context information acquired in relation to ‘allergicreaction checking service,’ recipe providing service,’ and ‘navigationservice’ to the server 300. Furthermore, the device 200 may provideinformation related to an execution history of the applications executedby the device 200, gender of a user, job of the user, etc. to the server300.

In an operation S760, the server 300 may determine an intention of auser based on properties of the object 100 and acquired contextinformation. The device 200 may determine types of services and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the services.Furthermore, if the server 300 determines a plurality of services and aplurality of specific information to be provided by the services, theserver 300 may recommend types of the determined services and types ofthe specific information to be provided by the services to the deviceand may receive information related to types of services and types ofspecific information to be provided by the services from the device 200.

Furthermore, the device 200 may determine types of services and types ofspecific information to be provided by the services based on location ofthe device 200 and properties of the object 100.

In an operation S770, the server 300 may provide a service and specificinformation to be provided by the service to the device 200 by using thereceived information. For example, the server 300 may provideinformation regarding a recipe for using an oven to cook a ‘soup’ havinga ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for showing a method by which the object 100acquires intention information related to services and provides theintention information to the device 200, so that the server 300 providesa service to the device 200, according to an exemplary embodiment. InFIG. 8, the object 100 may determine an intention of a user based oncontext information acquired from the device 200 and may provideservices corresponding to the determined intention to the device 200.Furthermore, the object 100 may determine an intention of a user basedon properties of the object 100 and location of the device 200.

Furthermore, services provided by the server 300 may be categorizedaccording to ages, genders, jobs, and health conditions of users, forexample. In this case, there may be particular link information forreceiving services of corresponding categories from the server 300 perservice category, and the server 300 may provide a predetermined link tothe device 200.

Operations S800 through S830 of FIG. 8 correspond to the operations S700through S730 of FIG. 7, and thus only operations S840 through S870 willbe described below.

In an operation S840, the device 200 provides acquired contextinformation to the object 100. The device 200 may provide contextinformation acquired in relation to the ‘allergic reaction checkingservice,’ ‘recipe providing service,’ and ‘navigation service’ to theserver 300. Furthermore, the device 200 may provide information relatedto an execution history of the applications executed by the device 200,gender of a user, job of the user, etc. to the server 300.

In an operation S850, the object 100 may determine an intention of auser based on properties of the object 100 and acquired contextinformation. The object 100 may determine types of services and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the services.Furthermore, if the object 100 determines a plurality of services and aplurality of specific information to be provided by the services, theobject 100 may recommend types of the determined services and types ofthe specific information to be provided by the services to the deviceand may receive information related to types of services and types ofspecific information to be provided by the services from the device 200.

In an operation S860, the object 100 provides intention informationregarding an intention of a user and link information for receivingservices to the device 200. The link information may include a linkaddress of the server 300 which provides services related to the object100.

In an operation S870, the device 200 requests the server 300 for aservice. The device 200 may provide property information of the object100 and intention information and context information acquired by thedevice 200 to the server 300. The device 200 may extract contextinformation related to received intention information. However, thecontext information extraction is not limited thereto. Contextinformation related to intention information may be extracted by theobject 100, and the device 200 may receive the context informationrelated to the intention information from the object 100. For example,the device 200 may provide information indicating that the object 100 isa smart poster related to a ‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providing service’ and a‘recipe using an oven’ are necessary, and a user prefers ‘spicy taste’to the server 300. In this case, the device 200 may access the server300 by using the link information and request for the correspondingservice from the server 300.

In an operation S880, the server 300 provides a corresponding service tothe device 200 based on received information. For example, the server300 may provide information regarding a recipe for using an oven to cooka ‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method by which the object 100 acquiresintention information related to services and provides services to thedevice 200 via the server 300, according to an exemplary embodiment. InFIG. 8, the object 100 may request the server 300 to provide services tothe device 200.

Operations S900 through S950 of FIG. 9 correspond to the operations S800through S850 of FIG. 8, and thus only operations S960 and S970 will bedescribed below.

In an operation S960, the object 100 requests the server 300 for aservice. The object 100 may request the server 300 to provide theservice to the device 200. The object 100 may provide propertyinformation of the object 100, received intention information, andcontext information related to the intention information to the server300. The context information related to the intention information may beextracted by the object 100 based on the intention information. Forexample, the object 100 may provide information indicating that theobject 100 is a smart poster related to a ‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providingservice’ and a ‘recipe using an oven’ are necessary, and a user prefers‘spicy taste’ to the server 300.

In an operation S970, the server 300 may provide a corresponding serviceto the device 200 based on received information. For example, the server300 may provide information regarding a recipe for using an oven to cooka ‘soup’ having a ‘spicy taste’ to the device 200.

Although it is described above that the object 100 requests the server300 for a service in FIG. 9, the exemplary embodiment is not limitedthereto. The object 100 may not request the server 300 for a service. Inthis case, the object 100 may provide specific information to beprovided by the service stored in the object 100 to the device 200.

Furthermore, although it is described above that the server 300 providesa service directly to the device 200 in FIG. 9, the service provision isnot limited thereto. In response to a request from the object 100, theserver 300 may provide a predetermined service to the device 200 via theobject 100.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a context information tableindicating context information in correspondence to types of services,according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, a context information table according to anexemplary embodiment may include a service type field 10, a contextinformation field 12, a device related information field 14, and auser-related information field 16.

The service type field 10 may include service identifiers, e.g., ‘foodsupply,’ ‘concert,’ ‘movie,’ ‘cosmetics,’ and ‘event information.’Furthermore, the context information field 12 may include contextinformation related to predetermined services. Referring to FIG. 10,context information related to a current location of the device 200,current time, an application executed by the device 200, a job of auser, family/acquaintances of the user, and user preferences are relatedto a concert-related service.

Furthermore, although FIG. 10 does not show specific informationincluded in the context information field 12, the context informationfield 12 may include specific information. The device relatedinformation field 14 may include context information related to thedevice 200. The device related information field 14 may includeinformation related to a current location of the device 200, currenttime, current weather, and the type of application executed by thedevice 200. Furthermore, the user related information field 16 mayinclude context information related to a user. The user relatedinformation field 16 may include information related to a job,constitution, health condition, family/acquaintances, and preferences ofthe user.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example menu screen image of anapplication executed by the device 200, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, when a predetermined icon is selected in a screenimage on the device 200 as shown in FIG. 11( a), an initial screen imageof an application for receiving services related to an object 100 may bedisplayed as shown in FIG. 11( b). The initial screen image of theapplication may include a region 20 for displaying properties of theobject 100, a region 22 for displaying context information, a region 24for displaying intention information (e.g., requested service), and aregion 26 for displaying specific information to be provided by aservice.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example in which a service-providingsystem and context information related to the device 200 are displayedvia an application.

When a predetermined icon in the region 20 for displaying properties ofthe object 100 in the initial screen image of an application as shown inFIG. 12( a) is selected, property information of the object 100 may bedisplayed as shown in FIG. 12( b). When the device 200 is located withina predetermined distance from the object 100, the device 200 may receivethe property information of the object 100 from the object 100 anddisplay the received property information. The property information ofthe object 100 may include a model name of the object 100, a serialnumber of the object 100, URL information necessary for receivingservices related to the object 100, and identifiers of recommendedapplications related to the object 100.

Furthermore, in the initial screen image of the application as shown inFIG. 12( a), when a predetermined icon included in the region 22 fordisplaying context information is selected, context information acquiredby the device 200 may be displayed as shown in FIG. 12( c). The device200 may display context information related to the intention informationincluded in the region 24 for displaying intention information describedbelow. The device 200 may display information related to a currentlocation of the device 200, current time, job of a user, andfamily/acquaintances of the user.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which intention informationrelated to a user is displayed and context information related to thedetermined intention information is displayed, according to an exemplaryembodiment.

In the initial screen image of the application as shown in FIG. 13( a),the region 24 for displaying intention information may include at leastone from between a service corresponding to intention of a user andtypes of specific information to be provided by the service. Forexample, the region 24 for displaying intention information may includean allergy information providing service.

Furthermore, when a predetermined icon in the region 24 for displayingintention information is selected, a list of services related to theobject 100 may be displayed as shown in FIG. 13( b), and the device 200may select a predetermined service based on a user input.

Furthermore, when a predetermined icon in the list of services as shownin FIG. 13( b) is selected, screen images displaying context informationrelated to the corresponding service may be displayed as shown in FIGS.13( b) through 13(d).

For example, when an icon related to ‘Allergy’ is selected in the screenimage of FIG. 13( b), a screen image for selecting family/acquaintancesof a user as context information related to an allergy informationproviding service may be displayed as shown in FIG. 13( c). In thiscase, constitutions of family members or acquaintances of the user maybe displayed.

Furthermore, when an icon related to ‘Recipe’ is selected in the screenimage of FIG. 13( b), a screen image for selecting taste preferences ofa user as context information related to recipe providing service may bedisplayed as shown in FIG. 13( d). In this case, the taste preferencesof the user may include at least one from among salty taste, spicytaste, and refreshing taste.

Furthermore, when an icon related to ‘Map’ is selected in the screenimage of FIG. 13( b), a screen image for selecting a destination ascontext information related to navigation service may be displayed asshown in FIG. 13( e). For example, a destination may be recommendedbased on a current location of the device 200 or the object 100, e.g., Amarket Gangnam branch, B market Gangnam branch, etc.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example in which intention informationrelated to a user is displayed and context information related to thedetermined intention information is displayed, according to anotherexemplary embodiment.

When a predetermined application is selected in the screen image asshown in FIG. 14( a), the device 200 may recommend context informationand intention information based on at least one form between propertiesof the object 100 and the application as shown in FIG. 14( b). Referringto FIG. 14( b), the device 200 may display the current location of thedevice 200, current time, and job of a user as context information andmay recommend an allergy information providing service as a type ofservice included in intention information.

If a user selects an icon related to ‘Allergy’ displayed on a screenimage as shown in FIG. 14( b), a target of an allergy informationproviding service may be recommended on a screen image displayed on thedevice 200 as shown in FIG. 14( c). For example, the target of theallergy information providing service may include family members oracquaintances of the user.

Furthermore, when a predetermined application is selected in a screenimage as shown in FIG. 14( a), the device 200 may recommend contextinformation and intention information based on at least one from betweenproperties of the object 100 and the application as shown in FIG. 14(b). Referring to FIG. 14( d), the device 200 may display the currentlocation of the device 200, current time, and job of a user as contextinformation and may recommend a recipe providing service as a type ofservice included in intention information.

If a user selects an icon related to ‘Recipe’ displayed on a screenimage as shown in FIG. 14( d), types of specific information to beprovided by the recipe providing service may be recommended on a screenimage displayed on the device 200 as shown in FIG. 14( e). For example,the specific information to be provided by the recipe providing servicemay include a recipe having a spicy taste.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example in which the device 200 receivesa service and changes intention information.

When an icon for completing setup is selected in a screen image as shownin FIG. 15( a), a target for an allergy information providing servicemay be determined. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 15( b), allergyinformation related to the determined target may be displayed in ascreen image. Furthermore, when an icon for changing a target of theallergy information providing service is selected in the screen image asshown in FIG. 15( a), a screen image for changing the target of theallergy information providing service may be displayed as shown in FIG.15( c). Referring to FIG. 15( c), the device 200 may select apredetermined target from a list of targets for the allergy informationproviding service or may search for a target via a SNS service.

Furthermore, when an icon for completing setup is selected in a screenimage as shown in FIG. 15( d), a recipe for cooking a food having aspicy taste may be displayed in a screen image as shown in FIG. 15( e).Furthermore, when an icon for changing specific information to beprovided by the recipe providing service is selected in a screen imageas shown in FIG. 15( d), a screen image for selecting the taste of foodmay be displayed as shown in FIG. 15( f). Referring to FIG. 15( f), thedevice 200 may select a predetermined taste from a list of tastes.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example in which the device 200 sets upcontext information used for providing a service based on a user input,according to an exemplary embodiment.

In a screen image as shown in FIG. 16( a), the current location of thedevice 200, current time, and job of a user may be recommended ascontext information used for an allergy information providing service.Furthermore, when an icon for changing a list of recommendations isselected in the screen image as shown in FIG. 16( a), a list forselecting context information to be recommended may be displayed in ascreen image as shown in FIG. 16( b).

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of providing a navigationservice according to an exemplary embodiment.

When the device 200 is located within a predetermined distance from theobject 100, the device 200 may receive property information of theobject 100 from the object 100 and acquire context information andintention information. For example, if the object 100 is anadvertisement poster related to a ‘soup,’ when the device 200 approachesto the object 100, intention information and context informationgenerated by the device 200 may be displayed in a screen image on thedevice 200 as shown in FIG. 17( a). For example, store location?’ mayindicate that a type of service included in the intention informationcorresponds to a navigation service. Furthermore, the current locationof the device 200, current time, and job of a user, which are contextinformation related to a navigation service, may be displayed.

Furthermore, when a user selects a predetermined icon, a list ofrecommended destinations may be displayed as shown in FIG. 17( b), andthe user may select a predetermined destination.

Next, the device 200 may provide the property information of the object100, the generated intention information, and context informationrelated to the intention information to the server 300 and may receivenavigation service from the server 300 as shown in FIG. 17( c).

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example in which the device 200according to an exemplary embodiment downloads an application based onapplication information included in the property information of theobject 100.

Referring to FIG. 18, when a predetermined icon is selected in a screenimage on the device 200 as shown in FIG. 18( a), an initial screen imageof an application for receiving services related to an object may bedisplayed as shown in FIG. 18( b). Furthermore, a list of recommendedapplications may be displayed in the initial screen image of theapplication, and a user may select an icon to download a correspondingapplication. Next, as shown in FIG. 18( c), the device 200 may downloadthe selected application.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the device 200 according to an exemplaryembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, the device 200 according to an exemplary embodimentincludes a connecting unit 210, a property information receiving unit220, a link information receiving unit 225, a context informationacquiring unit 230, an intention information acquiring unit 240, aservice requesting unit 250, a service receiving unit 260, a displayunit 270, a DB 280, a transceiver 285, and a control unit 290.

The connecting unit 210 connects the device 200 and the object 100 toeach other via a communication network. When the device 200 approachesto the object 100, the connecting unit 210 may connect the device 200 tothe object 100 via a close-distance communication network.

The property information receiving unit 220 receives the propertyinformation of the object 100 from the object 100. The propertyinformation of the object 100 is information related to properties ofthe object 100 and may include information regarding at least one fromamong an identifier of the object 100, a type of the object 100,applications related to the object 100, and services related to theobject 100.

The link information receiving unit 225 receives link information fromthe object 100. The link information may include a link address of theserver 300 which provides services related to the object 100.

The context information acquiring unit 230 acquires context information.The context information acquiring unit 230 may acquire contextinformation based on intention information described below. For example,if the type of service included in the intention information is ‘recipeproviding service’ and the type of specific information to be providedby the corresponding service is a ‘recipe using an oven,’ the contextinformation acquiring unit 230 may acquire information regardingpreferred tastes of a user as context information.

Although it is described above that context information is acquiredbased on intention information, the context information acquisition isnot limited thereto. The context information acquiring unit 230 mayacquire context information related to the device 200 and contextinformation related to a user in advance and may extract contextinformation related to intention information from the pre-acquiredcontext information. In this case, the pre-acquired context informationmay be used by the intention information acquiring unit 240 to generateintention information.

Furthermore, the context information acquiring unit 230 may acquirecontext information based on an application that is either beingexecuted or is executed by the device 200. For example, if anapplication that is being executed by the device 200 is an applicationfor receiving recipes, context information related to recipes may beacquired.

In this case, an application for receiving services may be executedbased on application information included in the property information ofthe object 100. If an application for receiving services is notinstalled on the device 200, the device 200 may download a predeterminedapplication and install the downloaded application. Furthermore, if anapplication for receiving services is installed on the device 200, thedevice 200 may execute the installed application. Although it isdescribed above that an application is executed after the device 200approaches the object 100 and receives property information of theobject 100, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. Anapplication for receiving services may be executed by the device 200 inadvance, and the device 200 may approach the object 100 and receiveproperty information of the object 100 from the object 100 while theapplication is being executed.

The intention information acquiring unit 240 generates intentioninformation based on properties of the object 100. The intentioninformation is information related to services a user wants to receiveand may include information regarding types of services and types ofspecific information to be provided by the services.

The intention information acquiring unit 240 may determine types ofservices based on properties of the object 100 and may determine typesof specific information to be provided by the determined services. Forexample, if the object 100 is an advertisement poster related to ‘soup,’the intention information acquiring unit 240 may select one from amongan allergic reaction checking service, a recipe providing service, and anavigation service.

If the intention information acquiring unit 240 selects the recipeproviding service, the intention information acquiring unit 240 maydetermine specific information to be provided by the recipe providingservice. For example, the specific information to be provided by therecipe providing service may include a recipe using an oven, a recipeusing a microwave, and a recipe using a gas stove, and the device 200may select the recipe using a microwave.

Types of services and types of specific information to be provided byservices may be determined based on properties of the object 100 anduser inputs. However, the services and information are not limitedthereto, and types of services and types of specific information to beprovided by services may be determined based on context information asdescribed below. Furthermore, the intention information acquiring unit240 may determine only types of services and may not determine specificinformation to be provided by services.

Furthermore, the intention information acquiring unit 240 may determinetypes of services based on the current location of the device 200 andapplications being executed and may determine types of specificinformation to be provided by the determined services.

The intention information acquiring unit 240 may also receive intentioninformation generated by the object 100 from the object 100. In thiscase, information necessary for generating the intention information maybe provided to the object 100 by the device 200 in advance.

The service requesting unit 250 requests the server 300 for apredetermined service. The service requesting unit 250 may provideproperty information of the object 100 and intention information andcontext information acquired by the device 200 to the server 300. Theservice requesting unit 250 may receive a request for acquired contextinformation from the object 100 and may provide the context informationto the object 100 in response. For example, the service requesting unit250 may provide information indicating that the object 100 is a smartposter related to ‘soup,’ a ‘recipe providing service’ and a ‘recipeusing an oven’ are necessary, and a user prefers spicy taste to theserver 300.

Furthermore, the service requesting unit 250 may request the object 100to provide services.

The service receiving unit 260 receives a service from the server 300.For example, the service receiving unit 260 may receive informationregarding a recipe for using an ‘oven’ to cook a ‘soup’ having a ‘spicytaste’ from the server 300.

Furthermore, the service receiving unit 260 may receive a service fromthe object 100. Furthermore, the service receiving unit 260 may receivea service provided by the server 300 via the object 100.

The display unit 270 displays various information related to operationsof the device 200 in a screen image. The display unit 270 may display auser interface for requesting and receiving a service and specificinformation provided by the service.

The DB 280 stores various information necessary for the device 200 toacquire intention information and context information and to receive aservice from the server 300.

The transceiver unit 285 transmits and receives various information fromand to the server 300 and the object 100. The various information may beinformation necessary for the device 200 to acquire intentioninformation and context information and to receive a services from theserver 300.

The control unit 290 controls the overall operations of the device 200and controls the connecting unit 210, the property information receivingunit 220, the link information receiving unit 225, the contextinformation acquiring unit 230, the intention information acquiring unit240, the service requesting unit 250, the service receiving unit 260,the display unit 270, the DB 280, and the transceiver unit 285 for thedevice 200 to receive various information necessary for acquiringintention information and context information and receiving a servicefrom the server 300.

All or some of the connecting unit 210, the property informationreceiving unit 220, the link information receiving unit 225, the contextinformation acquiring unit 230, the intention information acquiring unit240, the service requesting unit 250, the service receiving unit 260,and the display unit 270 may be operated by software modules. However,the units of the device 200 are not limited thereto. Furthermore, theconnecting unit 210, the property information receiving unit 220, thelink information receiving unit 225, the context information acquiringunit 230, the intention information acquiring unit 240, the servicerequesting unit 250, the service receiving unit 260, and the displayunit 270 may be operated by hardware modules.

Furthermore, the connecting unit 210, the property information receivingunit 220, the link information receiving unit 225, the contextinformation acquiring unit 230, the intention information acquiring unit240, the service requesting unit 250, the service receiving unit 260,and the display unit 270 may be included in the control unit 290, andthe connecting unit 210, the property information receiving unit 220,the link information receiving unit 225, the context informationacquiring unit 230, the intention information acquiring unit 240, theservice requesting unit 250, the service receiving unit 260, the displayunit 270, and the control unit 290 may be operated by a singleprocessor. However, the device 200 is not limited thereto.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the object 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 20, the object 100 according to an exemplary embodimentincludes a connecting unit 110, a property information providing unit120, a link information providing unit 130, a context informationacquiring unit 140, an intention information acquiring unit 150, aservice requesting unit 160, a service providing unit 170, a DB 180, atransceiver unit 185, and a control unit 190.

The connecting unit 110 connects the device 200 and the object 100 toeach other via a communication network. When the device 200 approachesto the object 100, the connecting unit 110 may connect the device 200 tothe object 100 via a close-distance communication network.

The property information providing unit 120 receives the propertyinformation of the object 100 from the object 100, and the linkinformation providing unit 130 provides link information to the device200.

The context information acquiring unit 140 acquires context informationacquired by the device 200 from the device 200. Furthermore, the contextinformation acquiring unit 140 may extract context information relatedto intention information from the intention information as describedbelow

The intention information acquiring unit 150 acquires intentioninformation. The intention information acquiring unit 150 may determinetypes of services based on properties of the object 100 and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the services.Furthermore, the intention information acquiring unit 150 may acquireintention information based on context information. The intentioninformation acquiring unit 150 may also acquire intention informationbased on a user input. In this case, the intention information acquiringunit 150 may acquire intention information based on at least one of userinput signals provided by the device 200 and user input signals via aninput unit of the object 100. The intention information acquiring unit150 may determine types of services based on the properties of theobject 100 and the current location of the device 200 and determinetypes of specific information to be provided by the determined services.

The service requesting unit 160 may request the server 300 to provide apredetermined service to the device 200. The service requesting unit 160may provide property information, intention information, and contextinformation to the server 300. For example, the service requesting unit160 may provide information indicating that the object 100 is a smartposter related to ‘soup’, a ‘recipe providing service’ and a ‘recipeusing an oven’ are necessary, and a user prefers spicy taste to theserver 300.

Furthermore, the service requesting unit 160 may provide informationnecessary to request services to the device 200. In this case, thedevice 200 may request the server 300 to provide services.

The service providing unit 170 provides services to the device 200. Ifspecific information in relation to services are stored in the object100, the service providing unit 170 may provide predetermined servicesto the device 200.

Furthermore, the service providing unit 170 may receive servicesprovided by the server 300 and provide the received services to thedevice 200.

The DB 180 stores various information necessary for the object 100 toacquire intention information and context information and to request orprovide services.

The transceiver unit 185 transmits and receive various informationnecessary for the object 100 to acquire intention information andcontext information, request services from the server 300, or provideservices to the device 200.

The control unit 190 controls the overall operations of the object 100and controls the connecting unit 110, the property information providingunit 120, the link information providing unit 130, the contextinformation acquiring unit 140, the intention information acquiring unit150, the service requesting unit 160, the service receiving unit 170,the DB 180, and the transceiver unit 185 for the object 100 to receivevarious information necessary for acquiring intention information andcontext information and requesting or providing a service.

The connecting unit 110, the property information providing unit 120,the link information providing unit 130, the context informationacquiring unit 140, the intention information acquiring unit 150, theservice requesting unit 160, and the service providing unit 170 may beoperated by software modules. However, the object 100 is not limitedthereto. Furthermore, the connecting unit 110, the property informationproviding unit 120, the link information providing unit 130, the contextinformation acquiring unit 140, the intention information acquiring unit150, the service requesting unit 160, and the service providing unit 170may be operated by hardware modules.

Furthermore, the connecting unit 110, the property information providingunit 120, the link information providing unit 130, the contextinformation acquiring unit 140, the intention information acquiring unit150, the service requesting unit 160, the service providing unit 170 maybe included in the control unit 190. The connecting unit 110, theproperty information providing unit 120, the link information providingunit 130, the context information acquiring unit 140, the intentioninformation acquiring unit 150, the service requesting unit 160, theservice providing unit 170, and the control unit 190 may be operated bya single processor. However, the object 100 is not limited thereto.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of the server 300 according to an exemplaryembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 21, the server 300 according to an exemplary embodimentincludes a property information receiving unit 310, a contextinformation acquiring unit 320, an intention information acquiring unit330, a service providing unit 340, a DB 350, a transceiver unit 360, anda control unit 370.

The property information receiving unit 310 receives the propertyinformation of the object 100 from the device 200. However, the propertyinformation reception is not limited thereto. If the object 100generates intention information, the property information receiving unit310 may receive context property information from the object 100.

The context information acquiring unit 140 receives context informationfrom the device 200. However, the context information reception is notlimited thereto. If the object 100 generates intention information, thecontext information acquiring unit 320 may receive context informationfrom the object 100.

Furthermore, if the server 300 generates intention information, theserver 300 may extract context information related to the intentioninformation from context information received from the device 200.

The intention information acquiring unit 330 acquires intentioninformation. The intention information acquiring unit 330 may determinetypes of services based on properties of the object 100 and maydetermine types of specific information to be provided by the services.Furthermore, the intention information acquiring unit 330 may acquireintention information based on context information. The intentioninformation acquiring unit 330 may also acquire intention informationbased on a user input. In this case, the intention information acquiringunit 330 may acquire intention information based on at least one frombetween user input signals provided by the device 200 and user inputsignals via an input unit of the object 100.

Furthermore, the intention information acquiring unit 330 may determinetypes of services based on the properties of the object 100 and currentlocation of the device 200 and determine types of specific informationto be provided by the determined services.

The service providing unit 340 provides services to the device 200. Theservice providing unit 340 may provide services to the device 200 inresponse to a service providing request from the device 200 or theobject 100.

Furthermore, the service providing unit 340 may provide services to thedevice 200 via the object 100.

The DB 350 stores various information necessary for the server 300 toprovide services to the device 200.

The transceiver unit 360 transmits and receives various informationnecessary for the server 300 to provide services to the device 200.

The control unit 370 controls the overall operations of the server 300and controls the property information receiving unit 310, the contextinformation acquiring unit 320, the intention information acquiring unit330, the service providing unit 340, the DB 350, and the transceiverunit 360 for the server 300 to provide services to the device 200.

The property information receiving unit 310, the context informationacquiring unit 320, the intention information acquiring unit 330, andthe service providing unit 340 may be operated by software modules.However, the server 300 is not limited thereto. Furthermore, theproperty information receiving unit 310, the context informationacquiring unit 320, the intention information acquiring unit 330, andthe service providing unit 340 may be operated by hardware modules.

Furthermore, the property information receiving unit 310, the contextinformation acquiring unit 320, the intention information acquiring unit330, and the service providing unit 340 may be included in the controlunit 370, and the property information receiving unit 310, the contextinformation acquiring unit 320, the intention information acquiring unit330, the service providing unit 340, and the control unit 370 may beoperated by a single processor. However, the server 300 is not limitedthereto.

The methods and functions of the exemplary embodiments may beimplemented in the form of a recording medium that includes computerexecutable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by acomputer. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. In addition, thecomputer-readable media may include computer storage media andcommunication media. Computer storage media includes both the volatileand non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented as anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.The medium of communication is typically computer-readable instructions,and other data in a modulated data signal such as data structures,program modules, or carrier, or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media.

While the exemplary embodiments have been particularly shown anddescribed, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims. The preferred embodiments should be considered indescriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Therefore,the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description ofthe invention but by the appended claims, and all differences within thescope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method by which a device receives a servicerelated to an object, the method comprising: receiving propertyinformation of the object when the device is located within apredetermined distance from the object; requesting a server for anavailable service related to the object based on a current location ofthe device and the received property information; and receiving therequested service from the server.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein therequesting comprises: determining types of the available service andtypes of specific information to be provided by the available servicebased on the received property information and the current location ofthe device; and requesting the server for the available service based onthe types of the available service and the types of the specificinformation.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising acquiringcontext information related to the types of the available service andthe types of the specific information, wherein the requesting the serverfor the available service based on the types of the available serviceand the types of the specific information comprises providing theacquired context information to the server.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the receiving comprises receiving the service based on the typesof the available service, the types of the specific information, and thecontext information.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the acquiringcomprises acquiring context information related to an application beingexecuted by the device.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the contextinformation comprises information related to at least one of a date, atime, the current location of the device, a gender of a user, an age ofthe user, and an execution history of an application that is executed bythe device in relation to the available service.
 7. The method of claim3, wherein the acquired context information is provided to the servervia the object.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the requestingcomprises requesting the server for the available service based on time,a user profile of the user, and a user history of services used by theuser.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the property information of theobject comprises information related to services related to the objectand at least one of an identifier of the object and information relatedto applications related to the services.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the receiving comprises receiving the property information via aclose-distance communication network.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe property information is property information related to an objectselected based on a user input via the device.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the property information is provided by the object to thedevice based on a user input for selecting from a predetermined listdisplayed on a screen of the object.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereinthe receiving comprises receiving specific information to be provided bya type of service selected based on the received property informationand the current location of the device from the server.
 14. The methodof claim 1, wherein the requesting comprises requesting the availableservice from the server via the object, the receiving comprisesreceiving from the server specific information to be provided by a typeof service selected based on the received property information of theobject and the current location of the device, and the specificinformation to be provided by the type of service selected based on thereceived property information and the current location of the device isdetermined by the object.
 15. A method by which a device receives aservice related to an object, the method comprising: determining anapplication executed by the device when the device is located within apredetermined distance from the object; requesting a server to providean available service based on types of services provided by theapplication and a current location of the device; and receiving therequested service from the server.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinthe requesting of the available service comprises: determining types ofthe available service and types of specific information to be providedby the available service based on the received property information andthe current location of the device; and requesting the server for theavailable service based on the types of the available service and thetypes of the specific information.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising acquiring context information related to the types of theavailable service and the types of the specific information, wherein therequesting the server for the available service based on the types ofthe available service and the types of the specific informationcomprises providing the acquired context information to the server. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein the receiving comprises receiving theservice based on the types of the available service, the types of thespecific information, and the context information.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the context information comprises information relatedto at least one of a date, a time, the current location of the device, agender of a user, an age of the user, and an execution history of anapplication that is executed by the device in relation to the availableservice.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the acquired contextinformation is provided to the server via the object.
 21. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the requesting comprises requesting the server for theavailable service based on time, a user profile of the user, and a userhistory of services used by the user.
 22. A method by which a serverprovides a service related to an object, the method comprising:receiving from the device property information of the object and acurrent location of a device; determining specific information to beprovided by a service related to the object to be provided to the devicebased on the received property information and the current location ofthe device; and providing the specific information to the device,wherein the property information of the object is provided by the objectto the device when the device is located within a predetermined distancefrom the object.
 23. A method by which an object provides a servicerelated to the object to a device, the method comprising: providingproperty information of the object to the device; receiving contextinformation related to properties of the object acquired by the devicebased on the property information; and providing a service related tothe object determined based on the received context information to thedevice, and wherein the context information is provided by the device tothe object when the device is located within a predetermined distancefrom the object.
 24. A device which receives a service related to anobject, the device comprising: a property information receiving unitconfigured to receive property information of the object when the deviceis located within a predetermined distance from the object; a servicerequesting unit configured to request a server for an available servicerelated to the object based on a current location of the device and thereceived property information; and a service receiving unit configuredto receive the requested service from the server.
 25. A server whichprovides a service related to an object, the server comprising: acontext information acquiring unit configured to acquire propertyinformation of the object and a current location of a device from thedevice; and a service providing unit configured to provide specificinformation to be provided by a service related to the object, to thedevice, wherein the service is determined based on the received propertyinformation and the current location of the device, and wherein theproperty information of the object is provided by the object to thedevice when the device is located within a predetermined distance fromthe object.
 26. An object which provides a service related to theobject, the object comprising: a property information providing unitconfigured to provide property information of the object to the device;a context information acquiring unit configured to acquire contextinformation related to properties of the object acquired by the devicebased on the provided property information from the device; and aservice providing unit configured to provide the device a servicerelated to the object determined based on the received contextinformation, wherein the context information is provided by the deviceto the object when the device is located within a predetermined distancefrom the object.
 27. A non-transitory computer readable recording mediumhaving recorded thereon a computer executable program for implementingthe method of claim
 1. 28. A non-transitory computer readable recordingmedium having recorded thereon a computer executable program forimplementing the method of claim
 15. 29. A non-transitory computerreadable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer executableprogram for implementing the method of claim
 22. 30. A non-transitorycomputer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computerexecutable program for implementing the method of claim
 23. 31. A methodof providing to a device a service related to an object in communicationwith the device, the method comprising: receiving properties of theobject from the object; determining at least one of device contextinformation of the device and user context information of a user of thedevice, based on the properties of the object; and receiving the servicefrom a server that contextually provides the service to the device basedon the properties of the object and the at least one of the devicecontext information and the user context information.
 32. The method ofclaim 31, wherein the determining comprises: determining a type of theservice based on the properties of the object; and determining the atleast one of the object context information and the user contextinformation based on the type of service.
 33. The method of claim 32,wherein the receiving comprises receiving the properties of the objectfrom the object over near field communication (NFC).
 34. The method ofclaim 33, further comprising: transmitting to the server a request forthe server to provide the service to the device, the request comprisingthe properties of the object and the at least one of the object contextinformation and the user context information.
 35. The method of claim33, further comprising: transmitting to the object a request for theserver to provide the service to the device, the request comprising theproperties of the object and the at least one of the object contextinformation and the user context information.
 36. The method of claim35, wherein the object forwards the request to the server.
 37. Themethod of claim 33, wherein the determining at least one of objectcontext information of the object and user context information of a userof the device comprises: determining the type of the service based onthe properties of the object; determining a type of information to beprovided by the service; and determining the at least one of the objectcontext information and the user context information based on the typeof information.
 38. The method of claim 33, wherein the user contextinformation comprises at least one of a gender, an age, a job, a name, arelationship, a nationality, a handicap, a constitution, a healthcondition, and a preference of the user.
 39. The method of claim 38,wherein the user context information is based on messages input via thedevice.
 40. The method of claim 38, wherein the preference of the usercomprises information regarding types of services used by the user andthe user's evaluations on the services.
 41. The method of claim 38,wherein the user context information is based on a payment history ofthe user.
 42. The method of claim 33, wherein the device contextinformation comprises at least one of a location of the device, a time,weather, and a history of application execution by the device.